Mayor rocks Imperial Beach in annual address

Imperial Beach Mayor Serge Dedina started his third state of the city address with a rock video.

“Shake this feeling” by the San Diego band Switchfoot blared from the speakers inside the Boys and Girls Club during his speech Feb. 21 to residents and dignitaries.

The song accompanied a compilation of photos taken at a free concert the Grammy-winning group gave last July at the Imperial Beach Pier in conjunction with 91X.

Dedina said the concert highlighted how his colleagues on the City Council and the city's employees have created a culture at City Hall that is “100 percent about service to our communities.”

They are “enriching the quality of life in this most southwestern beach town that we call home,” Dedina said.

This year’s state of the city address was themed “Service to Our Community,” during which Dedina focused on five areas of achievement in 2016.

Throughout his speech Dedina mentioned five organizations that he celebrated with community awards, for economic development projects and beautification efforts they did in the city last year.

4 Walls International

Habitat 4 Humanity

Imperial Beach Arts Bureau

I.B. Beautiful

San Diego Small Business Forum

The city held 53 community events and activities last year, including Symphony by the Sea, the Sun and Sea festival, fall car show, a cross fit competition, IRONMAN 70.3 SUPERFROG Triathlon and Amgen Tour cycling race, among others.

“These programs and activities bring our community together and illustrate the can-do attitude of the city and our desire to foster inclusive and family friendly events that also benefit local businesses,” Dedina said.

The mayor also talked about new development and roadway improvements in the city, including the Breakwater Town Center. The new shopping center under construction at Ninth Street and Palm Avenue is bringing Five-Guys, Starbucks, Grocery Outlet, Chipotle, Jersey Mike’s and other retailers this summer.

“We have more development projects and new economic activity going on in our city more than any other time in our city’s history,” Dedina said.

In addition, Bernardo Shores at Palm Avenue and Rainbow Drive will represent the city’s largest residential development project with 193 town homes. They are expected to be ready this year.

Dedina also talked about the city’s new library, now scheduled to open in April after a water pipe burst in January and delayed its completion.

“It is an absolutely gorgeous ocean-themed library, but it’s more than a library, it’s a community center that illustrates that Imperial Beach can and should have world-class infrastructure,” he said.

The same architect for the library will also be used to build a new senior center.

Under economic activity, Dedina touted new restaurants, including Pizzeria Luigi on Seacoast Drive, as well as the Brigantine, which will open across from the pier.

Coronado Brewing Co. will also open a restaurant, distillery and brewery at 13th Street and Palm Avenue as part of Bikeway Village along the San Diego Bayshore Bikeway later this year.

As part of community beautification, Dedina talked about his passion project of removing chain link fences throughout the city and turning the vacant lots into small community parks. Two such parks were created last year at Date Avenue and Seacoast Drive, and 10th Street and Iris Avenue.

To deal with beach pollution, the mayor said the city is trying to get state and federal agencies in the U.S. and Mexico to invest in new infrastructure to eliminate pollution in beaches from Rosarito to Coronado.

Dedina said the wastewater problem is not just “an I.B. problem, it’s a San Diego problem, it’s a Baja California problem.”